Calamity of a lifetime Floods give way as to stench and uncertainty in Kerala

Floodwaters receded in Kerala yesterday, leaving Indian rescuers the grim task of retrieving bodies as the death toll from the worst monsoon rains in a century rose above 400.

With nearly three quarters of a million people packed into relief camps in the southern state, known for its tourist beaches and hill resorts, authorities also fear outbreaks of disease. After more than a week of fierce downpours, rainfall eased Monday and flood levels fell in some districts.

Army helicopters and boats kept up missions to find trapped survivors and drop food and water in isolated villages. Officials said 22,000 people were rescued on Sunday. At least 30 bodies were also found taking the death toll above 200 since the torrential rain started falling on August 8 and more than 400 since the monsoon started in June. At least 1,000 were feared stranded in five villages around Chengannur, one of the districts worst hit by the deluge.

An Indian Navy team made a temporary rope bridge across a stream in Thrissur district on Sunday to rescue 100 people stranded for days. Commercial flight operations to Kochi, the state’s main city, resumed Monday after the navy opened its airstrips for small passenger aircraft. The city’s international airport has been ordered shut until Sunday.